FINALLY: Hauppauge Releases HDMI-In Capture Card

The need for HDMI-In Capture cards has eluded journalists and HDTV enthusiasts for quite some time now. Several solutions came to market, but were never available in real volume. Enter Hauppauge.

This well-known manufacturer of PC TV cards and the like had a lot of success with their HD-PVR, an external video capture box that enabled gamers, journalists and HDTV enthusiasts to finally capture the output in High Definition (up to 1080i).

Gameplay videos, TV shows – everything that does not require HDCP (High Definition Content Protection) link. However, the external box supported component (YCrCb) interface, which was a bit disappointing.

With today’s announcement of Colossus, there are no disappointments. Colossus continues where HD-PVR left off – it’s a PCI Express x1 card that comes with an HDMI-input. The functionality is the same as on HD-PVR, only now you can connect your set-top-box, cable box, game console or a HDMI-enabled mobile phone – and record what’s happening.

Diagram of the card itself: Single HDMI input is joined by Component and Optical Audio Inputs, and everything is outputted through Component Pass-through cable (our outputed to your computer display)

Also, the product comes with IR Blaster, a function that enables the users to automatically change TV Channels and schedule their recordings. In order to enable just that, software side of things features a WinTV v7 application and Arcsoft Showbiz software. WinTV is used for capturing, while Showbiz enables you baseline video editing that “features adding effects, transitions, timeline editing and the ability to burn to DVD or upload directly to YouTube.”

All in all, Colossus has a lot of potential. Still, there is room for improvement – 3D and 1080p recording would be a nice capability. We expect that in the second generation of the product.

Original Author: Theo Valich